Reviews of Jovan Musk for Men (1973)
by Jovan

A "nothing but" musk that I refer people to when they ask "what does musk smell like?" since it's so readily available at drugstores everywhere. It's also got a nice amber sweetness in conjunction with the musk. For something so simple, cheap and synthetic, it's good and classic.

An easy to access time capsule that has the added bonus of actually being quite wearable. The musk and amber presence are pretty restrained, and beyond the lightly citric opening it, this barely evolves,and remains pretty close to the skin. I don't see this being more than a seventies curio, and I remain doubtful that this would be one to reach for on a regular basis.

I bought this in Nov '73, when it first came out. It made for many hot times. Women loved this on a guy. It's real simple but clean smelling. To this day, I still like it!

A strange mixture of gruff, antiseptic tones along with the softer lavender and carnation. Wore this alone for about a year and have not gone back since. Likable one minute and slightly nauseating the next.

Opening notes and the actual color of this product aside, this is nice stuff. I do agree with the occasional sense (for me floral) of dissonance like a slight lilac maybe. But the overall efffect is one of soap and powder in the drydown. This is the best non-musk musk out there for the money. While I recommend it, it is also a scent that make me want to go back and write a less off-handed review of Brut, believe it or not, another Basenotes winner, believe it or not.

I sprayed it on and my initial impression was “Ouch!”. The top verged on being harsh and it was very loud as citrus and spice seared their way into my consciousness. I was beginning to think my 14-year old self had a much stronger constitution than my current incarnation. Then just like that too loud person you meet at your high school reunion who first bowls you over with too much information but then eventually lapses back into the personality you remember you liked; so too does Jovan Musk for Men. Once the top burns off, fairly quickly, there is a straight-forward lavender and woods before the musk makes its appearance in the base. As this dries down the musk takes a solo turn on my skin and really smells very nice. The longevity is not so great but for something that is less than $10 a bottle I think it is certainly adequate.

I have a cold as I'm typing this, and can't smell. Yet I can smell the Jovan Musk I just put on....and I like it. A lot. Cheap as it might be, it's really nice and potent. It's got a nice musky-spicy quality to it; warms me up inside. Powerful too. Not bad for a scent that's older than me.

This was a coming of age experience back in the mid 70's for me. And has stood the test of time, a classic in it's own regard, made for many a weekend night.

I bought this in lieu of Avon Musk for Men which has now been discontinued. The two fragrances are somewhat similar though on initial application of Jovan, Government officials should create a no go zone round the wearer. After a good half hour it does calm down and that Musk note so similar to the Avon version is definately there though a little heavier and stronger. We only seem to get the Aftershave & Deodorant version here in the UK, cant find EDT Spray anywhere so I generally only use this in its literal sense i.e after shaving. It's not drastically modern and does have the potential to offend but such is the way of many great fragrances. Yes its cheaply priced but I like it. It is a Musk and as such calms down to a nice clean, sweet smell. Give it a go!

Very nice, smells like a quality, but extremely light, cologne. I wish it stuck around longer on my boyfriend's skin, but what IS left after the initial ten-minute-fizz, is a very soft, almost powdery skin scent that is all good. But no sillage whatsoever, pity! An 'extreme' flanker would go down real well over here. I really don't find the scent cheap, tawdry or common at all. Very polite, and if teenagers were wearing this in the 70s, it must have been a better time! If only they'd all swap their Axe for this today.

Not really very much to this scent, and it’s quite old school. In spite of its name, it is not very musky, but that may be because it doesn’t last long on my skin. The fragrance of the scent is actually quite nice, but the individual notes are difficult to separate out and I sporadically encounter a little dissonance in the middle accord. The dry down is a pleasant woods note, quite masculine, but again, not really very musky. The whole fragrance smells rather generic, but in this case, that is not a terrible thing because it’s original for its time and really more pleasant than the generics that swelled the ranks of modern day offerings. It’s a nice scent and it provides more than adequate value for its cost.

It smells like a cheap, weird soap. It is artificial and reminds me of rubber, mixed with something medicinal.

I still love this stuff. I almost always get compliments. Too bad it doesn't stay around long, at least on my skin.

Laugh all you want, but this sexy and affordable juice has gotten millions of teenage boys laid -- and that's saying a lot.

Alright..Probably not for everyone, and that's ok. I've been wearing this fragrance since the late 70s and while it's not my "favorite", it still has a classic appeal. The initial application is a bit harsh, but the powdery drydown can have a nice lingering scent.

Jovan Musk is okay, I guess...

I have always enjoyed wearing fragrances - even when I was about eight years old, and even before that, I remember asking my Dad before he went to work "can I PLEASE use some Lagerfeld?", " can I use some Fahrenheit?", "can I use some Eau Sauvage?" or, believe it or not "can I use some Aramis?"...Yes, I know, for an eight year old, that was a bit excesive.

A short while after, I went through a 'dry' period where I didn't bother with cologne for about three or four years. But then, when I was turning twelve, My mum asked "Is there anything special you have in mind for a present, honey?" And I said "Can I have some cologne?" At which mum said "okay, we'll see."

About two days later, I went to do the groceries withmy mum at the Shopping Crntre, where we visited the perfumery. My mum said "just wait out here, I'm just going to duck in for a sec..." I knew what she was up to, and I over-heard her ask the sales assistant if they had anything that would suit a 12 year old boy.

Lo and behold, on my birthday a week later, I recieved a Jovan Musk gift set, with cologne spray, deoderant stick and body spray, along with three Nintendo 64 games (keep in mind, this is eight years ago). I wore it every day until I ran out five months later. I haven't worn it since, but I remember very well it's soapy-flowery-citrusiness, nestled on a light-but-loud muskiness...The smell itself was 'faltering-' or 'uneasy-' smelling, but pleasant enough, and easily adaptable to a very diverse age range...the one thing, other than the fact that I remember the fragrance itself was 'stable', if that's how it can be put, neither on clothing, nor skin, that I didn't like, was a weak, but persistent "sweaty", but never body-odour-like presence.

This aside, and despite it's 'generic' smell and sillage, it was a nice enough fragrance, and nowadays, esily affordable. But I'm not sure I'd ever go back to it, though...My nose has become a lot more sophisticated...Even if there is that semintimental/nostalgic connection, with Jovan Musk being my first fragrance that I OWNED...

Smells cheap and not sexy at all. There much more to musk than this- musky scents can be much more complex. This one is only animalic, overdone sweet, with a touch of babypowder and sweat, cheap sweets and all sorts of synthetic touches. Maybe this is the way cheap supermarket deodorants must have smelled back then.

I like to wear this when I'm in a 70's kind of mood. Even though I was a child in the 70's, I still envied the generation before me and all the debauched disco glamour they seemed to be revelling in. Now I can put on Jovan Musk for men and fantasize I'm a Manhattan dilletante stumbling home from another one night stand. As dirty as this might sound, this fragrance is actually very clean smelling, like a childs hair after their bath-time.
Experienced but not too far from innocence. Gee, that sounds like a perfume ad from the 70's...

Lovely top note - S O A P Y

The spearmint makes it

A very musky base note for me though

It's quite nice

Well, I think the top notes are terrible and really reminded me of vintage hairsprays... They're strange and result in a weird floral accord. If you can pass these notes, you will find a fragrance similar to Monsieur Musk: a spicy powdery musky scent without a hint of sweetness. At this point It's nice, although I can't deny the smell is a bit old fashioned.

The first time I smelled Jovan Musk I thought it was great. That was back in the Disco '70s when I was young and didn't know beans. (I now know some beans). I think young guys (and some women) would just love this; but it is nothing I would wear these days unless I want to make my friends wonder what the hell happened to me.

Smells good last fairly it's cheap nuff said but it.

This is one musk that doesn't do it for me, and I love musks. It's clean alright, but at the expense of good scent. The first time I wore it I kept waiting for it to evolve, but it didn't. One of the only colognes I've received numerous complaints on. It should be called Musk, Extra Light. The deodorant is mild and long lasting, smelling like the liquid.
The bottle is nothing special and I hate the orange coloring of the cap and label!